Reconstitution is a process of mixing and diluting solutions. Some medications/drugs supplied in powder form must be mixed with liquid before administration. Many powdered drugs must be stored in powdered form because they rapidly lose their power once they are mixed into a solution. Before powdered drugs can be administered, they must be reconstituted, or mixed with one or more liquids.
In basic terms, reconstitution involves a solute, a solvent, and a solution. The solute, the substance to be dissolved or diluted, i.e. the drug, can be either a solid or a liquid. The solvent, the substance that dissolves/dilutes the solute, is a liquid commonly referred to as the diluent. The resulting mixture is the solution.
Reconstituting of drugs during administration is challenging, requires specialized training, and requires several pieces of equipment and multiple numerous steps that are difficult to carry out and cumbersome, especially in emergency situations. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a syringe assembly useful for reconstituting and injecting drugs that is simple to use without specialized training, inexpensive, and that does not require oversight by a medical or emergency professional.